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Brabantia Laundry Bin
by hanmillie
It was late last year when we finally put the finishing touches to our new bathroom. The bathroom itself had taken an age to complete and, putting the final touches together we noticed that our wicker laundry basket needed replacing. We had been given our wicker basket years earlier as a wedding present and it had lasted us very well. ... However, due to the damp the wicker was beginning to lose its edge and was looking a bit green around the edges, therefore we headed out to buy a replacement. Being that our new bathroom has a number of chrome details including the taps, mirror and toilet roll holder, I was looking for something in the same colour way to match, plus I also wanted to avoid buying wicker again. It was in Argos that this Brabantia 30L laundry Basket caught my eye. Standing tall and looking quite sturdy and stylish in construction it caught my eye immediately and although it cost more than I wanted to pay, I bought it there and then.
~The Product~
When we purchased our Brabantia laundry bin, it came packaged in a tall cardboard box which illustrated the laundry bin on the front. Taking my bin out of its packaging it looked pretty modern and stylish in relation to the other models I had seen and this was due to the fact that this product has a stainless steel body with a matching lid and a cream laundry bag inside making it all very shiny and reflective. The body of the bin is cylindrical in shape and is stainless steel in material and it has a series of holes punched into the bottom to enable the laundry inside to breath. The removable lid of the bin is also stainless steel in construction and has a large round hole in the top with rounded edges which enables dirty laundry to slip easily inside. Inside the body sits a cream bag which can be removed and this has an elastic rim which enables it to grip tight against the body of the bin. Both the cream bag and steel lid have the Brabantia logo imprinted onto them, and in my neatness I do like to ensure that both logos match up whilst the bin is sat in our bathroom. As the bin is stainless steel and has a moderate weight to it, I did worry initially that it might scratch the tiles on my bathroom floor, however Brabantia have already thought of this and have put a plastic ring around the base so that not only does it not scratch but it also grips the floor effectively.
In terms of dimensions, this laundry bin is around 65cm tall and has a diameter of around 30cm. In our house where there are just the two of us, this allows us a good five days storage of dirty laundry before the basket needs emptying and the cycle continues again. However, there are bigger Brabantia laundry bins for larger households.
~Use~
As with all laundry bins, this one is no different in being a means to store dirty laundry throughout the week in between washes. The beauty of this bin in my opinion is that it is made out of stainless steel and this is a material which is non corrosive. This means that hopefully my laundry bin will last for years to come without getting rusty marks. When I need to do a wash load, the lid of the bin can be pulled off and the elastic bag removed and taken into my kitchen to unload the dirty washing. This method means that I do not need to carry the entire bin around with me every time I need to do a wash. The holes in this bin ensure that our dirty laundry is ventilated throughout the week, and I can testify to having no nasty smells coming from our laundry during the week so the ventilation clearly works.
~Maintenance~
I love the shiny surface of this laundry bin, and believe that the reflective qualities only make my bathroom look bigger. However, the shininess does have a disadvantage and that is cleaning. Being a bit of a neat freak, I do clean all the shiny surfaces around our home weekly and this bin does have a tendency to pick up its fair share of finger marks and water splashes meaning that it requires a jet of cleaning spray and complete rub down every time I want it to look clean. In terms of the bag, it is made out of a cotton fabric and therefore I have given it a standard 30°C wash since we bought our bin just to keep it smelling fresh.
~Guarantee~
When I bought my laundry bin, I was impressed to see that it came with a 10 year guarantee. In my mind this only reassures that it is a quality product although I have kept my receipt just in case.
~Price and Availability~
Price wise, I believe I paid around £65 for my laundry bin and this was with some money off the original price. A quick look online reveals that they can be purchased more reasonably from Amazon where you can expect to pay £52.95 for the stainless steel option and £52.21 for its white alternative. Having owned my bin for a few months I feel that this is a reasonable price to pay, particularly when you consider the classic look of this bin and the fact that it has a 10 year guarantee.
~Summary~
I have been really pleased with my laundry bin purchase and can confirm that after a quick rub down my bin still looks exactly the same as the day I bought it. It stores our dirty washing during the week in an aesthetically pleasing way and fits well into the colour scheme of our bathroom whilst being sturdy in construction. This is an excellent product in my opinion and one which I continue to recommend, and for that it scores five stars from me.
I hope this review has been of some help and thanks for reading! x
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Lock & Lock Stackable Airtight Container
by bilbobaginz
Tupperware has come a long, long way in the last couple of decades. Made from the cheapest, most flexible, least toxic / erodible, most easily formed material available today - plastic - containers like this Lock & Lock Airtight product are now common place in kitchen cabinets across the UK. Back when I was a kid, you just didn't get ... anywhere near the same level of quality, nor the same physical features as these modern varieties procure. They are strong, secure, reliable and long-lasting. But most of all, they're reasonably priced. You can pick up one of these stack-able containers from Amazon.co.uk for £4.50.
FORM:
The container has a capacity of 1 litre and is a rectangular shape (to suit storage and packaged items which need to be kept within). The edges are rounded to increase safety, and the lid bulges slightly outwards to maximise the space inside. The most interesting aspects of the design are the containers air / water-tight seal and innovative 4 x locking mechanism, which clamps the lid securely down on each side. Made from a rugged plastic, the locks contain small slits which clip to lips on the bases sides. They clip down with a fair bit of pressure applied, and un-clip with slightly more finger-power. The whole lid is removable and there are no hinging elements. The entire container is transparent (allowing you to see what is within) besides the seal which is coloured blue and highlights the outline of the opening.
USE:
Due to their accurate, yet basic design, these containers will fit into tight spaces, saving on room. They are especially effective for use in fridges, where the plastic remains completely safe. According to the manufacturer, stacking these in fridges can save up to 40% on space (reiterated by Amazon).
I tend to use my Lock & Lock's for storing raw or cooked meats, and fresh fish. Due to their innovative seal and lock mechanism, no moisture, smell (air) can cross the material - they are 100% tight. Any strong smelling substance can be locked away securely - cheeses, vegetables, sweet snacks, etc. They also make excellent lunch boxes, extremely rarely coming open unnecessarily - if you secure it properly to begin with you'll have no trouble. It might well be difficult for children to open and close the box however, due to the locks - but I'm sure parents and teachers can lend a hand at lunch time.
You can even use them in microwaves and dishwashers, so the material and the design is truly multi-functional - a friend of the kitchen and of the house-wife/husband. The container won't scratch or gradually wear down at the bends, it can be used thousands of time with little to no visible detraction.
Overall, I've had some good use out of my containers and thoroughly recommend them. Sure they may be a bit expensive for some, but the design has been perfected for the function, and the functions / uses are endless. If you're after a multi-use container that can be used everywhere in the kitchen, is safe, secure and long-lasting, pick this.
DIMENSIONS: 20.6 x 13.5 x 6.9 cm
WEIGHT: 454g (boxed)
RATING: 4.5/5
PRICE: £4.50 per 1 litre container.
AVAILABILITY: Amazon.co.uk, and in some super-markets (other varieties / brands exist).
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Asda Smartprice Refuse Sacks
by Seven17
For just over £1 you can disappoint yourself, pollute the environment and make your self angry. That's where these come in, at £1.09 you can do all of these things and waste your hard earned Sterling.
These bags are just disgraceful, their quality is shockingly unacceptable for bin bags and why they didn't just charge a tiny ... bit more and make them slightly better I don't know. These are incredibly flimsy and tear easily.
You have to be extremely careful when handling these bags to ensure that they don't catch on anything remotely sharp. If they do, they rip and eventually split completely. With plastic bags you can get a small tear and within minutes the whole thing is shredded. With these it's more like a few seconds.
The bags are incredibly thin and cannot take much weight. When using these I just started filling them half full to avoid spillages or the bags breaking. This is something I'd recommend particularly if you're a family with a lot of waste which builds up and ends up quite heavy.
They get holes in them too, just for no reason it seems other than the plastic is just under too much strain, it just randomly gets holes in it when in use. It's not a good idea to throw liquids in here anyway but especially not if they get holes constantly.
These bags are a very dark brown, almost jet black but cause they're not completely opaque this gives them that sort of dark brown tint in the sunlight. The plastic is quite smooth too but getting a good grip is impossible when they've split anyway, I just lift them up extra carefully with both hands.
These cannot be recycled either so if you've got some spare ones left over that you can't bare to use then they'll just go straight in the landfill. Very bad for the environment making them, and then again when they end up underground releasing toxins and gases. Fantastic Asda, how green of you.
Overall these are shockingly unacceptable and shouldn't be on the shelves. Once again this is a product that is considered value, but it's such poor quality that it's not actually value for money, and should be avoided.
Do the planet and your bank account a favour, don't buy these!!
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